Sustainable Polymer Reaction Engineering

世界上几乎每一种制成品中都含有聚合物。毫不奇怪，聚合物行业的经济指标预测，在可预见的未来，全球产量将大幅增长。大多数合成聚合物来自石油原料，由于供应限制和负面环境后果，我们对这些原料的依赖已经达到临界点。我的研究计划的长期目标是开发可持续聚合的新方法，为聚合物行业面临的环境和经济挑战提供变革性的解决方案。在最近的一篇综述文章中，我将“绿色化学12原则”应用于当前的聚合物生产技术，以确定具有最大可能产生重大影响的研究领域。这导致当前提案中的六项原则成为目标：1-设计危害较小的化学合成：用更安全的替代品取代危险的溶剂，用毒性较低的通常是生物基材料取代单体。2.可再生原料的使用：据预测，生物基单体在世界聚合物总产量中所占的份额将从2011年的1.5%增加到2020年的3%。在我的研究计划中，已经开发了许多可再生的生物基单体和溶剂(例如甘油、脂肪酸甲酯)。3-催化剂的使用：许多生物基单体中存在的烯丙基部分会导致降解链转移，从而阻碍聚合。阳离子引发剂和活性自由基聚合方法的使用前景看好。4.使用更安全的溶剂和反应条件：用水基(乳液)聚合取代基于溶剂的聚合方法。提高能源效率：考虑到聚合反应往往具有高放热的性质，绝热操作是提高能源效率的明显选择。然而，复杂的依赖温度的动力学可能会导致产品质量的严重损害。6-实时分析工艺条件以防止污染：使用反应热计和在线监测聚合反应是我们继续积极探索的领域。基于上述原则，我将追求我的长期目标，开发可持续的聚合物反应工程技术。我的方法包括使用更安全的溶剂替代品或乳液聚合，在聚合物产品中加入可再生材料，并以绝热方式进行反应。我的主要目标是生产环境友好的压敏胶(PSA)。使用乳液聚合生产PSA的四个极具创新性的项目将满足我的目标：1.油酸丙烯酸酯甲酯和其他植物油来源与传统单体的共聚。2.将萜烯(例如，α-蒎烯)加入到共聚物配方中。利用氮氧化物介导的聚合反应生产PSA。4.用于生产PSA的绝热乳液聚合这些方法尚未在PSA生产的背景下进行研究，也没有被广泛用于生产其他聚合物产品。尽管加拿大拥有丰富的可再生资源，但全球对不可再生化石燃料的日益依赖正在留下不可持续的社会、经济和环境足迹。显然，需要立即采取行动管理我们的星球，聚合物行业有很大的改进潜力。这项研究将通过培训HQP和最大限度地提高加拿大在一个新出现的环境和经济重要性领域的表现，来促进加拿大的生物经济和清洁技术。

Polymers are found in almost every manufactured product in the world. Not surprisingly, economic indicators for the polymer industry predict a significant global increase in production for the foreseeable future. Most synthetic polymers are derived from petroleum feedstock and we have reached a critical point in our dependence on these feedstock due to supply limitations and negative environmental consequences. The long-term objective of my research program is to develop new methods in sustainable polymerization to provide transformative solutions to the environmental and economic challenges confronting the polymer industry.In a recent review paper, I applied the “12 principles of green chemistry” to current polymer production technology in order to identify research areas with the highest probability of significant impact. This led to the targeting of six of these principles in the current proposal:1- The design of less hazardous chemical syntheses: Replace hazardous solvents with safer alternatives and monomers with less toxic, typically, bio-based materials. 2- The use of renewable feedstock: It is predicted that the share of total world polymer production occupied by bio-based monomers will increase from 1.5% (2011) to 3% in 2020. Many renewable, bio-based monomers and solvents have already been exploited in my research program (e.g., glycerol, fatty acid methyl esters).3- The use of catalysts: The presence of allylic moieties in many bio-based monomers leads to degradative chain transfer which impedes polymerization. The use of cationic initiators and living radical polymerization approaches are promising.4- The use of safer solvents and reaction conditions: Replace solvent-based polymerization methods with water-based (emulsion) polymerization. 5- Increase in energy efficiency: Given the often highly exothermic nature of polymerization reactions, adiabatic operation is an obvious choice to improve energy efficiency. However, the complex temperature-dependent kinetics may lead to serious compromises in product quality.6- The analysis of process conditions in real-time to prevent pollution: The use of reaction calorimetry and in-line monitoring of polymerization reactions is an area that we continue to actively explore. Given the above principles, I will pursue my long-term objective to develop sustainable polymer reaction engineering technologies. My approach involves using safer solvent alternatives or emulsion polymerization, incorporating renewable materials into polymer products and running reactions adiabatically. My principle target is the production of environmentally benign pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs).Four highly innovative projects using emulsion polymerization to produce PSAs will address my objectives:1. Copolymerization of acrylated methyl oleate and other vegetable oil sources with traditional monomers. 2. Incorporation of terpenes (e.g., alpha-pinene) into copolymer formulations.3. The use of nitroxide-mediated polymerization for the production of PSAs. 4. Adiabatic emulsion polymerization for PSA production.These approaches have not been studied in the context of PSA production, nor have they been exploited widely for the production of other polymer products. Although Canada possesses abundant renewable resources, the increasing global dependence on non-renewable fossil fuels is leaving an unsustainable social, economic and environmental footprint. The need for immediate action on the stewardship of our planet is obvious, and there is great potential for improvement in the polymer industry. This research will advance Canada’s bio-economy and clean technology by training HQP and maximizing Canada’s performance in an area of emerging environmental and economic importance.